NRIs club vote and vacation, land in state

TNN | Updated: Apr 10, 2019, 13:37 IST

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HYDERABAD: Many Telugus living abroad have landed in the state to vote in the Lok Sabha elections just hours before it starts. Nagesh Reddy Kasarla arrived in India on Monday from London and will head to Karimnagar to cast his vote on April 11. With plans to stay only for a week, he says, “I came only to vote. I want to see a stable government. It is only in the last few years that I have seen India changing. I have lived in the UK for 18 years, but it is only recently that people are talking about India and the pace of change.” Anisha R, who has also come down from the United Kingdom, says she combined casting her vote with a long-pending vacation. “I thought it best to combine the two things so that I could meet my parents living here as well as vote for the political party whose ideology I believe in.” For Ashish Midah, who has been living in Australia for 14 years, coming back home and voting is not as much about local parties, but rather national interest. “Frankly, I don’t know much about the local candidates. My expectations are on issues such as national security and infrastructure,” he says. He is registered as a voter in Jubilee Hills. Asked why he has taken the pains to come all the way from Melbourne, he says, “My children who have been born in Australia may not feel as much of a connection, but this is my motherland and I feel responsible that it is heading in the right direction.” Staying away from their country, like Midah, many other NRIs too feel a responsibility to vote keeping the national interest in mind rather than local issues. Swati S, who lives in Sydney, says, “When we live far away, issues such as civic amenities don’t matter as much. What affects us is the way our home country is perceived. This directly reflects on us in the country we live in because that is how people react to us.” Ramesh Rao, who flew in to town last week from the USA, says he will be casting his vote in the city. For him, besides the fact that he will be voting for development, he also feels this election is a good time to expose his teenage children to the Indian democratic system.

“This is the largest democracy in the world. I do not want my children to grow up without understanding their roots. I want them to see the problems that exist here and stay connected. What better time than during elections for them to become aware of how the system works,” Rao added. Ramesh Rao who stays in the USA says that he has come here during the elections as he wants his children to have an idea about the system here and stay connected.